Durability studies of head–disk interface using padded and load/unload picosliders for magnetic rigid disk drives

A study for comparison of the durability of padded (sliders with pads), unpadded (sliders without pads) and load/unload (L/UL) picosliders was conducted under different environmental conditions and in clean room and contaminated environments. Padded picosliders exhibited lower stiction and higher durability at moderate to high humidity levels as compared to unpadded picosliders. Overall L/UL picosliders showed higher durability. Accelerated flying conditions caused an increase in stiction. This increase was because of pad wear in case of padded picosliders while for unpadded and L/UL picosliders it was due to the transfer of lubricant and/or water molecules on the slider. In presence of particulate contamination, L/UL sliders performed better than padded picosliders. Contaminant particles caused either a partial or complete removal of the pads and this pad wear eventually lead to an increase in start-stop stiction and accelerated HDI wear.